Snowfall in San Francisco
by JadeLightning-Wolf
Summary: [Oneshot]Snow in summer is rare enough, let alone in San Francisco. Such odd weather can have the strangest effects on people, namely Kenshin and Kaoru. From Eternity universe.


_A/N: Yay! One-shot from "Eternity" universe. Remember, if you kill me, I can't update. With that in mind, prepare for WAFF with a side of nice bitter tasting reality._

**Snowfall in San Francisco**: from the universe of "Eternity in a Grain of Sand"

"Kenshin!" Kaoru's joyous voice rang through the small flat they were renting, effectively snapping Kenshin from the meditative state that he'd almost, _almost_ attained. Must everything be so distracting?

"What is it, Kaoru?" he said, exasperated as her head popped into the doorway.

"Come with me," she said, whirling into the room like a tsunami and dragging him away on the tide. Kenshin was roughly pulled out the front door and was not permitted to stop moving until they stood on their street corner under the gas light.

"Kaoru," he growled, running a hand through shaggy, unkempt hair, "I hope the reason you dragged me out here is important. Might I point out I am wearing no shirt and feel rather filthy."

"Well, that's not my fault," she said smartly, dancing around him in a circle for a moment as her loose hair spun out behind her in a wave of black and blue silk.

"What has gotten you in such a happy mood?" he asked, smiling in spite of himself.

"Look up," she said, urging his chin upward with two fingers.

Kenshin tipped his head back and looked upward. The sky was overcast, the faint lights of San Francisco reflecting down from the stratosphere. A faint chilly wind was blowing in off the sea, bringing the scent of salt and bitter brine.

"Kaoru, what am I looking at?"

"Just wait," she said, her voice hushed and excited. As if in answer, Kenshin felt the faintest touch on the tip of his nose. A moment later, a trickle of water ran past his lips and down his chin. Kenshin frowned. His eyes focused on a moving spot of white about twenty feet up and then widened as he realized what he was looking at.

"It's snowing," he whispered, a sense of both sadness and wonder sinking into his skin.

"Yes," Kaoru breathed, her hand coming to rest in the crook of his elbow. "We haven't seen snow since we left Japan. And it's summer no less."

"I know," he whispered, caught in sudden and unwanted memories. He had never told Kaoru about Tomoe. That was one thing he might always keep to himself. However, she seemed to sense his melancholy.

"Kenshin?" she asked, her voice so tentative and small that it immediately called his attention from the sky. He looked down at her, eyes locking in a sea of mischievous cerulean, and he had a sudden feeling of foreboding.

"Run with me," she whispered, grasping his forearm and turning away with all the otherworldly speed vampirism granted her. For a moment, Kenshin was dragged along behind her like a bumbling rag doll as he tried to process what she'd said. Then his natural gift for speed took over. He drew even with her in a heartbeat and scooped her into his arms, running with wild abandon.

San Francisco streets rushed by in a whirl of flickering flame and brick-fronted buildings. An eerie sense of weightlessness descended on the pair as they rushed up and down hills at unbelievable speeds. Kaoru let loose a gout of laughter as though it had risen from her throat like a flock of birds. Kenshin glanced down and felt delicious warmth curl in his stomach at the sound. She laughed so rarely. He could distinctly remember each time he'd been graced with the sound and recall it with perfect detail.

Kenshin was approaching the point he'd been aiming for and slowed his pace slightly. Kaoru wrapped her arms around his neck as she sensed the ride coming to an end. Holding onto him might make it last a little longer.

Kenshin came to an easy halt, gently releasing Kaoru from his arms. She took to her feet reluctantly. Such happy moments were so rare for her. She'd wanted it to go on forever. However, when she turned to see where he'd taken them, her breath left her body.

"You remembered," she said softly, walking to the rail on the side of the bridge and gazing out at the black waters.

"Of course," he murmured, moving to stand next to her. "It would be hard to forget your favorite spot in all of San Francisco."

"But I only took you here once, and that was so long ago," she said, her hand passing over the stone railing as though it were a long-lost friend.

"It doesn't matter how long ago it was. I wouldn't forget this place."

Kaoru spun suddenly, throwing her hands up as the snow started falling more heavily around them. "It's nights like this that remind me why I stay in this life. They're so rare. The last time I felt like this must have been…" She trailed off, trapped in some memory. Slowly her hands came down to her sides.

Kenshin felt a thread of courage snake into his grasp and quietly asked, "When Kaoru?"

She smiled sadly, glancing over her shoulder at him, before shaking her head. She would not tell him. She knew nearly everything about him, yet he knew so little about her. Kenshin quietly wondered at the fact that he could love her without even knowing what her favorite song was, when her birthday was, how old she was.

His eyebrows rose in surprise as his own thoughts went round in his head. _I love her?_ he thought to himself, swirling the thought in his brain as he would a vintage wine. _I love her._

It made sense. Everything about her was a brilliant siren's song to him. The very mystery that comprised her being drew him in like a moth to flame. He doubted that, even if he should live a thousand years at her side, he would ever know everything about her.

Kaoru slowly turned back to the sea, eying Kenshin from the corner of her eye. He looked thoughtful and seemed to be watching her without realizing what he was doing. She decided to give him something to watch.

In a flash, Kaoru leapt onto the stone railing that divided the street from the open air over the sea. Kenshin reached for her instinctively, but she maneuvered out of range by flipping backwards and landing on one foot, her other foot sweeping neatly to the side and behind her.

_How does she do that in a skirt?_ he wondered to himself as a laugh rose in his throat. He let the laughter loose, like the low purr of a dragon, to curl in the night air. Kaoru looked at him, startled. Then she smiled, her arms rising above her head as she flipped backward again.

This time Kenshin was ready. He jumped upward and caught her as she fell, dragging her away from the railing. Both of them laughed, the rare sounds curling around each other like smoky, predatory cats and creating music as sweet as the church bells on Sunday morning.

Time froze then, as their laughter echoed through the streets and faded into the night. Kaoru looked up and saw warm golden eyes, shining as brightly as the harvest moon and burning with the inner fire of life and determination. Only for her was he ever so open. Others saw only chinks of frozen amber where she saw liquid flame that threatened to devour all it consumed.

Kenshin looked down and saw a woman who had courage as well as compassion. Never had he seen her feed on a human unless the human had specifically requested it. Those she fed on were those who were already dying, as he had once been. Always, she showed the world a beautiful face that could not be touched even by the basest sins. Always, her blue eyes made him hope again, as though redemption for his crimes were truly possible.

When their eyes locked, with the snow drifting around them and the sea crashing in their ears, one seeking redemption from his past and the other seeking to give redemption because she had her own hidden sins, the world held its breath.

Kenshin found himself entertaining thoughts he normally kept for nights when she was out hunting. Touching her as he desired to was hardly right in his mind. Couldn't a person be held guilty by association? Couldn't his darkness reflect on her purity? At this moment, staring into the depths of her eyes and glimpsing the eternity he always found there, he found he couldn't care. Without another breath's hesitation, he closed the space between them and kissed her.

For Kenshin, she was only the second woman he had ever kissed, despite the fact that he'd been alive for more than fifty years. For Kaoru, Kenshin was one in a line of many men to have kissed her, but he was the first to kiss her with everything he was, holding nothing back. For both of them, it was as though it was the first kiss all over again. Everything felt magnified and new and brilliantly wonderful, as though the world was getting a new start.

Kaoru was the one to advance the kiss, her experienced lips and tongue gently guiding Kenshin until they were both swept away on waves of warmth and hints of desire. His tongue danced with hers, mimicking the snowflakes that waltzed around them. When she traced one of his fangs, he felt spikes of pure lightning run down his spine. His hands found niches on her body that seemed made for them, one resting on the small of her back and one fisting in her long, loose hair.

When they broke apart, neither were panting, but both seemed flushed and out of breath. Kenshin pressed his forehead to hers, shifting the hand at the nape of her neck to trace her cheekbone. She pressed into the touch lightly, turning to kiss his palm. He moved to kiss her again but she pressed her fingers to his lips.

"Let me cherish this just a little bit longer," she whispered, the hand on his lips moving to brush his wayward bangs away from his eyes. Her eyes traveled over his features, memorizing everything from the way one eyebrow was quirking slightly at her request to the scar that would remain ingrained in his flesh for all of time.

"Do you know I've never met another man like you?" she said after a moment. "In all my long years I've never come across another who would sacrifice like you. You set aside your own needs and feelings to aid the rise of the Ishin Shishi, even though every death at your hands tore you apart. Do you have any idea how rare courage and compassion such as yours is?"

He moved to tell her that he was staring at a woman who had ten times the courage and compassion he had in his heart, but she silenced him with another kiss. This time, they took their time, edging from chaste press into heated passion that made Kenshin's head rush dizzy from sensation.

Kaoru broke away from him, blue eyes again finding amber flames. In his half-lidded, passionate gaze she could clearly see the love he was beginning to harbor for her. Sadness filled her thoughts then. Those who dared to love her always seemed to end up dead. Gently, she pulled out of his arms to return to the side of the bridge.

"Kaoru?" he asked gently, moving to stand behind her and place his hands on her shoulders. He felt her sigh beneath his hands, though he did not hear the sound escape her lips.

"Let's go home, Kenshin," she said after a moment, turning into his ready embrace. "Perhaps…perhaps it's time I started to live again. Really live."

His eyes widened at the statement. What did she mean? He'd known almost right away that Kaoru was not one to share her feelings lightly. Hope began to grow in his heart, a sapling that he would care for now so that later, it could be there for her to lean on. If she was saying what he thought she might be saying, if she was willing to love him, he would do everything in his power to love her until death parted them.

Kaoru felt his arms tighten with his resolve and smiled gently into his chest. Kenshin was still so young in the ways of the world. He thought his love would be enough to uphold him. He still had so much to learn…

_A/N: WAFF and yet I still manage to throw in the dark thoughts. Don't you all just love me? Keep in mind that Saitoh is going to barge in tomorrow night and ruin their little bubble of happiness. Hope you enjoyed this and that it made up for my evilness in the full story-line. The idea for this one-shot came to me last night and I just loved it. May or may not do more one-shots from the Eternity universe, both when Kenshin and Kaoru are together and after they've separated. Entirely depends on schedules and willing muses. Remember, I find ways to apologize when I don't update. So no pitchforks or rotten tomatoes or anything like that, ok?_


End file.
